


Arctic Hare

by Kamary



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Mistaken Identity, Nobles and Bandits AU, Ships to be added as they appear - Freeform, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 13:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19769515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamary/pseuds/Kamary
Summary: The second daughter and current heiress of the noble house of Schnee, Weiss, seems to always find herself getting into trouble. After finding a scared faunus at the home of another noble, she finds herself entangled in the plans of a pair of Dust bandits and their guide.





	Arctic Hare

**Author's Note:**

> So, it's been a while since I wrote any stories, but after repeatedly watching a certain episode, an AU occurred to me, and I simply could not shake it. I won't explain the exact terms of the AU. Hopefully it becomes obvious over time.
> 
> I can't say I'll complete this story. I'll try, but I'm very busy with work, so I might end up losing focus on it. Still, I do hope everyone enjoys what I have so far.

“Thank you Klein,” Weiss offered the cake butler a little nod as he shut the door behind him. Tea did little good to help her with her current headache. Being a noble woman of marriageable age, she knew she should be used to this. Most noble families arranged marriages for their children before their hit the first decade of their life. For Weiss though, it was a little different.

She had an arrangement, with a young man for a lesser family. It was political. She would marry him and take over his family, and her own family would help them rise in power. Eventually, she would get a seat with the other great families of Vale on the Council. Using this, she would help the Schnee family back in Atlas rise to greater prominence. She had no fondness for this plan, but she was the second daughter of the Schnees. She didn’t exactly have a choice.

It was her job to help her sister, the rightful heiress, bring more glory to their family. The Schnees were already among the greatest of the noble families in Atlas, but her father was not satisfied with that. He wanted to become the God Empress’ representatives in Solitas. Everything was going as planned until someone pulled the right string and made an offer to Winter that she could not refuse.

The God Empress’ elite guard could take no spouses, bare no children, and most of all, they could hold no other titles. It came suddenly, Weiss taking the reins of the heiress. Her father scrambled to fix things. But Winter’s betrothed was far too insulted to accept a second sister. Besides, that would hardly work. Weiss was too young. She was barely ten when her sister was given the offer and twelve by the time her mother finally gave up begging her to return. Weiss had no doubt her father had been planning this from the moment Winter received the offer. He had never really cared for his strong willed daughter.

No, he had never really cared for his strong willed daughters.

A new fiancé in Atlas was hard to find. They were stuck in their ways, and most people her age were spoken for long ago. Of course, plenty of young men somehow found a reason to break off their engagements the moment that the _Schnee heiress_ was back on the market, but Weiss found this unacceptable. All they did was prove their were disloyal and would don the same to her for a chance at something better. It made a good excuse to give her father, and acceptable one. Of course, there were other reasons why Weiss had rejected those young men, but she would not tell him. No, if she did she would be…

No, she didn’t want to think about that.

The white haired girl rubbed her temples. She hated courting meeting. It was one thing when she was young and her parents decided everything while she kicked her potential fiancé from under the table, but it was another when she could see the parents sizing her up themselves.

At least she had Klein here. He was second only to having Winter there with her. Her mother, well, when her mother was fully herself, would have been good too, but for now Klein would do. It was rare that a noble house trusted one of the common blood so much, but Klein had been with the family since her mother was her age. He was a cake butler in name only. A nanny, a teacher, a master of arms, he was what the Schnees needed as the time. Weiss felt safe with him there.

She finally gained the courage to sip her tea. It was good, like everything Klein made for her. She almost wished she could ask him to stay here, but she knew that would be considered too odd to her guests. He was a common servant, and servants were not to room with those they served. It was getting rather late, and her guests would be expecting her to go to sleep soon.

The Winchesters had been kind with their accommodations. The guest room they lent her showed off their wealth, a little too much. The room was decorated in deep browns and reds, the family colours. The bed they gave her was large and plush, and the room was almost as large as the one she had at home. A courting room. They probably kept a room like this for courting a richer family. Weiss could not help but scowl. She would have preferred the normal guest questers to these.

“You can tell a lot about someone based on the way they treat their guests,” her sister had said once after visiting the residence of her betrothed. “Not just the noble ones. The merchants, the common people too. If they only value you for your blood and family name, then they see you as only a tool.”

Now that she was in her quarters for the night, she could go over the documents the family had give her. Honestly, this was more important to her than a potential husband. The Winchesters had one thing that made them stand out in the court of foreign nobles, and that was their ties to the Dust trade. They didn’t work in mining, but in transport. This could be advantageous to her family. The Schnees might have the best mines in the world, but they needed better transport, given all the attacks lately.

She barely had the time to get very far into her documents when there was a loud knock on the door. It wasn’t Klein’s soft knocks, nor was it the shy knock of a common servant. It was either another noble or one of the highest ranked servants in the household. Weiss fought the urge to make a face as she straightened out the papers. She had to show her best face to a future business partner.

“Come in,” she called. Without any hesitation, a teenage boy with sweep back grey hair opened the door. He gave her a bow. A sloppy one. The heiress rolled her eyes while he was still down. Before she even saw his emblem, she knew he was one of the personal servants of Cardin, the boy her father had sent her here to meet. Honestly, people these days just hired whoever complimented them the best and didn’t take into account even basic etiquette.

“My apologies for disturbing you at this hour, Lady Schnee.” The man’s speak was quick, nervous even. “But my lord wished to have a meeting with you, alone.”

_The nerve of him!_ She was starting to understand why this Cardin Winchester was single despite his age. Even her former fiancé had found someone new- No, she couldn’t let her temper get the better of her. Her father would have words with her if she heard a sniff of something going round, and he always did.

“You are forgiven for your intrusion,” Weiss begin, her tone flat enough that she did not come off as cruel while still showing her displeasure with the man for even suggesting she meet with Cardin at such an hour. “However, it is hardly proper young nobles to meet at such a time of night. As a result-“

Before she could even finish her carefully worded speech, someone else pushed their way into the room, forcing the grey-haired bot to the side. This intruder, however, was one she knew. Cardin Winchester was large for his eight. At eighteen, he towered over most of his peers. He was the very image of the knightly nobleman. Or he would, if he were no drunk off his rear.

“Oooooh come on, Ice Queen. How are we ever supposed to work if you don’t know how to have a little fun?” Every bit of him sickened her. Weiss had already come to conclusion that he was an ill fit for her, but she thought at least she would try for his parent’s sake. She was starting to see now, though, that giving him that much was a mistake.

She got to her feet, looking for her rapier. She could fight without it, but she would rather not. She preferred to use Dust, when she could. But if she didn’t have it, she could still wipe the floor with this boy. He looked the type who only knew how to fight with his muscles. The easiest type of opponent.

“You really don’t know what you’re talking about, do you? I’m going to give you once chance to leave before-“ When her eyes flicked one more time, in order to find her blade, he used that chance to close the gap between them, grabbing her arm roughly.

“I just wanna show you something!” He tugged hard, stopping her from calling on her spell. She should have focused better, but it had been a long day and she hadn’t been able to spar with Winter recently.

Now that he was close, Weiss could look the man in the eye, and there was nothing but fury in her own. “You will unhand me this instant or I will have no choice but to freeze you alive.”

“Jeez!” He let got. “No wonder they call you the Ice Queen… Fine. If you don’t want to see my pet, that’s your loss.”

That caused her to stop. “Your pet?”

Cardin laughed loudly, like he thought she was a fool for asking. “Yeah, my special pet. She’s my personal favourite. And I though, since we’re getting married, guess she’s gonna be your pet too.”

Weiss decided not to tell him that she had already decided to turn him down. “And this is not an attempt to seduce me? Because trust me…” She looked over his sloppily dressed form with absolute disgust. “It has done nothing to earn you any favours.”

“Nah,” Cardin slurred as he turned to leave the room. “Just wanted to share her. Cause she’s real pretty.”

It occurred to Weiss suddenly this pet was no animal. She jolted up and took a step after him. “This pet-“

He cut her off. “So now you’re interested. Okay, okay, since you’re begging me. Follow me, and I’ll show her to you.”

The white haired noble knew that she would regret soon enough, but she followed the man anyway. He companion gave her an almost apologetic look, but Weiss would have none of that. A servant high enough ranked to wear his master’s badge should know better than to let the young man get that way, especially when there were guests in the building. In her mind, it just showed exactly how incompetent he was.

She followed him down the hall, out of the guest quarters. He had best not be taking her to his private quarters, or she might have to make good on her promise to freeze him solid. But, no, he took her through the main hall, toward the gardens. She had been there earlier, and so no pet. She was about to make a comment about him trying to trick her, when he lead her toward a garden she had not been in before.

Weiss hadn’t questioned it at the time. Her family had gardens they didn’t share with guests. After all, what noble house had only one garden. It was like having only one butler, utterly embarrassing. She hadn’t even thought much of the fall between the two. Maybe it was to keep thieves and spies out.

But now that Cardin opened the gate into the garden, she began to understand exactly why the family had not been eager to share it with her. There were dozens of large cages here. Most of them contained the creature of Grimm. Weiss knew that some nobles collected them. They thought they were funny, the God Empress’ punishment for the common folks. She had even heard of a few of the more shady nobles in Anima holding underground fights were commoners and faunus were forced to fight Grimm for money or employment. It left a bad taste in Weiss’ mouth.

But the most shocking thing in the garden was in the most ornate of the cages. In the center of the private garden was a golden cage containing a young woman. At first, Weiss thought she was human, but seeing the pair, her ears perked up. _A faunus._ It had been years since Weiss had seen on in person. Her family used to keep a few employed as night guards. Their vision made them great for that. But, not anymore. Not since-  
  
_Bang!_

“Come on, Bunny, do something funny!” Cardin gave the cage a second kick, sending the bunny girl inside into a fit of terror, causing her to hide in the corner.

Weiss stepped in, grabbing the back of his armor and pulling him back. “Stop that! You’re disgracing yourself.” She looked to the girl in the cage. “Why is she in here? Slavery is illegal.”

The nobleman just laughed. “ _Human_ slavery is illegal, the laws say nothing about owning an animal. Besides, she’s not a slave. She’s my little pet.”

She doesn’t understand quite how she keeps finding more and more hatred for this man, but it is happening. Weiss forces herself to keep control of her power. Even then, the air becomes a little chilly. As she breaths out a sigh of her rage, it come out as a cloud of steam. “It is illegal to own faunus. They might not have the same right as humans, but owning them has been illegal for decade. If the Lionhearts were to find out-“

He seemed to sober up, scowling at her. “Oh, so you’re gonna tell that scared old man. It’s not like he cares what happens in Vale. He’s all the way in Mistral. And here I was thinking I finally met a woman who understood. I thought the Schnees hated the faunus.”

“I do not hate them.” She scowled. “And neither does my family. What we do hate is terrorists and those who are a threat to the God Empress’ kingdom. This girl is none of those things. Now, let her out.”

The boy turned his back. “Can’t, she’s a spy.”

Weiss gave him a look. “Then turn her over to the local authorities.”

“And give the Winchester family secrets to the commoners? Hell no. Soon enough, they’ll be raiding the Dust shipments for themselves, since they’ll know the patterns.” She knew he was just looking for an excuse, but what he said would fly in a court of law. Everyone knew that commoners longed for Dust, longed so something that would give them a taste of a noble’s power. Dust was only to be used in construction by the most trusted of commoners or in the hands of nobility, and families who mined and transported it could get away with almost anything by claiming they were protecting their Dust from bandits.

“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes. “She’s a faunus. When’s the last time you heard of a faunus that could read?” She felt a bit guilty, calling on that stereotype, but she had little choice. “You are just looking for a chance to torment her.”

“And so what if I am. She’s commoner, and a faunus. I’m a noble, I can do whatever I want with her!”

So that was the type of person he was. Weiss had seen her fair share of power hungry men. Her own father was one. Growing up with him in her life, she learned exactly what she needed to do in order to manipulate them. People like Cardin Winchester were chained down by their own egos.

“Then give her to me.” Weiss’ tone was clear. “A gift to your future wife. Consider her to be a bride price. I will have no further dealings with you family if you continue to act this way. Show me that you are better than this, and worthy of my consideration.”

People like him wanted power. The power that a Schnee could afford them. She could see it in his eyes, the math he was doing. One faunus girl measured up against one of the most powerful noble families in the entire world. It was an easy decision.

“Fine, take her. Sky, get the chains.”

Weiss put out a hand. “No chains. I can handle someone like her easily. Besides, you’ve left her outside in the filth. I will have to see her washed and dressed properly before she can be of any use to me.” The girl in the cage gave a little whimper at that. “I could use a chambermaid for the time I am here. After that, I will find her somewhere proper to go.”

Cardin seemed to accept this and grabbed a hold of the door to the chain. It lit up with a pale red light. A magic lock? Did his parents really think this faunus girl was so dangerous? The cage swung open.

“Well,” he barked. “Get out there and thank your new mistress.”

The brown haired faunus stumbled out of the cage, looking utterly terrified. Her eyes darted to Cardin, and then Sky, before settling on Weiss. Her ears folded back, like a cat’s. Seeing her look like this, Weiss couldn’t help but feel her stomach twist. She needed to get this girl out of here as quickly as possible.

“Come,” she ordered. “I do not care for those who waist time.” Sinking entirely into her Ice Queen persona, she lead the faunus out of the room. Given the way she was limping, she probably had old injuries. Weiss sighed. She didn’t have healing magic. Of the many, many magics she could perform, healing was the one she always seemed to fall short on. She’d have to either send for a proper healer, which would be expensive, or she would have to help the faunus heal the natural way. She’d have to speak with Klein about that.

It was only when she was halfway back to her room did Weiss realize that the girl had yet to speak up. It seemed surprising, until she realized that Cardin had probably beaten this girl into submission.

“What is your name?” Weiss began. “I assume that you have one.”

The brown haired girl looked up for a moment, until realizing Weiss had turned her head to look at her, and immediately look back to the floor. She acted as though she had committed a crime, simply by looking at the noblewoman.

“Lord Winchester calls me Bunny…” She went to stop there, but quickly realized that this was not the answer that Weiss was looking for. “B-but my actual name is Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina.”

Oh, good. She had an actual name. She’d heard stories of faunus living in the woods, completely separated from society. “Well, Velvet Scarlatina, you don’t have to act like such a scared rabbit all the time. I am not going to suddenly turn on you.”

The girl tugged at one ear. “It is k-kind of difficult for me to not-“

“Alright, that was bad wording on my part. But you know what I meant.” She should her head. Why was she surrounded by smartasses? “Regardless, you do no need to be afraid of me. I don’t believe in abusing my staff. Nor to I intend to keep you in my staff for very long. Just long enough to make it clear to the Winchesters that you are under my protection.”

Velvet’s ears rocketed up in surprise. “But, you… You did this much for me, and you don’t want to…”

“Nobody should live in a cage.” The heiress’ tone was absolutely firm. “I will not allow it. Nobles are supposed to protect the common folk, not treat them like garbage.”

Weiss noticed her faunus companion looked like she wanted to say something, but chose to stay silent instead. She imagined it was something to do with the abuse she’d seen the Winchesters do. They wouldn’t even have been the worst Weiss had heard of. Compared to Atlas, Vale was considered very mild in how to treated the faunus. And if hate like this was here…

“I will have my butler draw you a bathe, when we get back to my quarters. From there, who can wear one of my travelling outfits for the night. In the morning, you will be measured and outfitted for the rest of your stay with us.”

It seemed there was boldness in this girl asked all. “May I… May I ask what will happen after that?”

“You’ll return home. If you have a home you wish to return to. I would offer you the chance to remain in my service, but…” She brought a hand up to touch her brow.

“It is alright, my lady. I do not expect that from you. I… I actually do have a home I want to return to. Well, less a home than a person. My girlfriend, Coco. She… She probably thinks I’m dead…” It was a weird transformation, hearing Velvet’s voice go from nervous to warm and loving. She most care for her girlfriend a lot. Weiss couldn’t help but smile at that. “Ah! My lady?”

She waved the girl off. “No. It’s just nice to hear someone actually have a partner they enjoy being around.”

Down went the ears once more. “That’s right… And you and the lord…”

This got a bitter laugh from Weiss. “No. Absolutely not.”

“But you said…”

“To a drunken man who probably won’t remember it tomorrow. Even if he does, he’ll have to explain to his parents what he was doing at my room in the middle of the night. It can easily state that it never happened and that it was a drunken dream.” It was not Weiss’ first time at this radio. “Even his personal servant won’t go against me.”

“Ah, I see- Ah? My lady?”

“Yes Velvet?”

She looked around. “Why are we in the servant’s quarters?”

“I did say I was going to call my butler to draw you a bath, did I not?” Weiss looked at her with mild amusement.

“Yes, but…” She looked embarrassed. “I thought you would summon him with magic.”

“Because all Schnees are summoners?”

“Ah, no? Are they?”

Oh, right, Velvet wouldn’t know about what noble families were gifted with which talents. The heiress supposed she’d have to explain. “It’s our magic gift, but it doesn’t work with people.” Plus, it seemed summoning was the gift that skipped her.

“Oh. I thought magic could do anything.”

“There are a lot of things magic can do,” Weiss agreed. “But a lot of things we have to do on our own. Otherwise that Winchesters would not need to have to many servant.”

“…I thought they had them just to look important.”

The heiress covered her mouth to hide her snickering. Velvet was… For a moment, she had forgotten the girl was a faunus. She was strangely friendly. When was the last time she had a good conversation with someone her age? It had been forever.

“Miss Schnee?” A door opened to show a concerned Klein. She realized he probably heard they approaching. She hoped none of the other servant did. Luckily, he was placed in a mostly empty hall with her guard. Still, she’d have to make sure he heard nothing incriminating.

“It’s okay Klein. I just had, an interesting encounter with a certain Cardin Winchester- No.” She put a hand up as soon as she saw the man’s eye colour change. “He just wanted to show me he had a caged faunus.”

“One I see you have decided to pick up.” He looked to Velvet, his eyes shifted back from their red to a light brown. “My, she’s in a bit of rough shape. I suppose you were looking for me to do a check up on her. I did not bring my medical tools, but I am still more than capable of figuring out of that leg of her is just sprained or broken.”

Weiss let out a sigh of relief. “Actually, I was going to send for a healer, but that would work much better. I am worried my… Well, I suppose that works. I was actually hoping for you to draw a bath for her, and help me find a pair of my clothes that will fit her for the night. Tomorrow we can fetch a tailor and deal with the pesky business of figuring out what to do.”

The cake butler gave her a little bow. “Of course, my lady. I’m more than happy to.” He stepped out of his room. “Come along, Miss Faunus. Let us get you cleaned up.”

Velvet looked to Weiss once more before she went to follow the butler. “Thank you so much. I just… I have no idea how I can ever repay you.”

The noble shook her head. “Thank me once we’re out of his place. There’s still a few days more before we can finally leave.”


End file.
